Fatal Mistake in|Hospital, Widow Says

JOLIET, Ill. (CN) – A hospital tech mistook a man’s brain drainage shunt for an intravenous line and injected magnetic dye into his brain, killing him, his widow claims in court. Mary Norys sued Provena Hospitals and a John Doe MRI technician, in Will County Court, for the death of her husband, Thomas. She says her husband was at the hospital on May 8, receiving treatment for a stroke. He had “an external ventriculostomy drain (herein referred to as an ‘EVD’) as part of his care and treatment for a stroke with localized brain damage,” the complaint states. “The purpose of the EVD was to alleviate intracranial pressure by removing fluid from ventricles.” Her husband was scheduled for an MRI on that day. “It was intended to inject Thomas Norys with Magnevist (gadolinium) contrast dye I.V. in order to perform the brain MRI, with contrast,” the widow says. But “Defendant John Doe mistook the EVD for an intravenous line … [and] injected the Magnevist (gadolinium) dye into the brain of plaintiff’s decedent, Thomas Norys.” The complaint adds: “Defendant John Doe, after having injected the Magnevist (gadolinium) dye, thereafter injected a certain amount of saline solution into the EVD in order to insure that all of the dye was pushed through the line.” She says that “caused global cerebral injuries to Thomas Norys’ brain resulting in anoxic encephalopathy and ultimately to his demise.” She seeks damages for wrongful death, medical negligence, loss of consortium, and expenses. She is represented by David Selig with Sussman, Selig & Ross.